


the weather outside is frightful

by galaxyofcolor



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Newton Geiszler Being an Idiot, Requited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28470360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyofcolor/pseuds/galaxyofcolor
Summary: Newt and Hermann share a cabin to unwind from their stressful Shatterdome lifestyles.
Relationships: Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18
Collections: Newt/Hermann Hallmark AU Fest 2020





	the weather outside is frightful

**Author's Note:**

> This was for the Hallmark AU Fest by hermannsthumb on Tumblr!! This is my first time posting a fic oops! Of course I wasn't happy with it until an hour before the deadline either :/ buuuuuut!! Here you go newmann fans, take this juice

Newton looked out the window of the tiny cabin that he and Hermann had decided to rent for the holiday. It was the first holiday season since the war had ended, and they had wanted to get away for as long as they could. For the most part, they were still running around the Shatterdome like chickens without heads; they were meant to be studying the after-effects of the kaiju attacks and such. Newton loved the work but he was glad to be able to spend some quality time with one of his “closest friends”. 

Newt had suggested this outing for one reason: he wanted to tell Hermann the truth about his feelings. Maybe it was a terrible idea, but Newt couldn’t turn back now. He really couldn’t, now that there was an intense snowstorm brewing outside.

“Shit, dude, the wind’s really picking up,” Newton commented, resting a hand on his hip. The snow was swirling and the gusts of wind ran through the branches of naked trees, creating a cacophonous whistle. Hermann, from his place on the nearby couch, grumbled.  
“I do wish you would close those curtains, Newton. It’s making it even colder in here,” he sniffed, side-eyeing the shorter man.

Newt snorted and obliged his request, “You know, Herms… The sweaters are still a pretty viable-”

“Absolutely not. I will not be wearing one of those wretched sweaters you brought!” Hermann’s face was pink with embarrassment. Newt smirked and strolled over to the couch and sat next to the other man. There was about half a foot of space between Hermann and himself. Only half a foot separating them, but it was hell to be so far away from him. They would have spent any other normal workday even farther away from one another. Newt didn’t know how Hermann felt about the amount of time they spent alone yet together, but Newt hated it.

“C’mon, this is supposed to be a vacation! Why not enjoy it while it lasts man? No one’s looking; you can retire the grandpa clothes for the week,” he teased.

Hermann straightened his back and Newt watched the bones in his hands shift around as his fingers twitched, “As I have told you many times before, sextuple Doctor Geiszler, I like to keep a professional air about myself. I simply don’t have many other clothes that would fit the definition of leisure. Certainly not many that would fit your definition of the word,” his tone was annoyed but he wore a faint smile, nonetheless.

“That’s just another reason to wear one of the sweaters I brought, dude! Why not say fuck it to the old Shatterdome routine and switch it up!”

Hermann pinched the bridge of his nose. The action was accompanied by a long exhale through his nose, “You are an insufferable little man.”

“So I’ve heard! You’re not the only one who files complaints on me, you know,” Newt slapped his knees and sprung to his feet once more, “I’ll go grab those sweaters!” He called as he ran off through the kitchen of the cabin.

~*~

“Newton, these are hideous.”

And hideous they were. Newt had donned a monstrosity of a sweater, complete with a knitted portrait of Mutavore and dimly blinking lights. The colors were horribly bright. Although it may have been one of the worst articles of clothing Hermann had ever seen, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It was hideous but it screamed “Newton”.

Hermann brought a hand to cover the smile, but Newt had definitely seen the glimpse of the silly grin that had overcome his lab partner.

“Heyyyy, I saw that! Come on, Herms, you love it!” Newt smiled and he put his hands on his hips and playfully squinted at Hermann.

“You look absolutely awful,” Hermann stifled a laugh into his hand and shook his head. Newton tossed a sweater into his lap with a laugh of his own. It was full of glee and merriment. 

The sweater Newton had given him was just as tacky of an eyesore. It had similar blinking lights and colors as Newton’s, but the image on the center was a series of random number sequences.  
“I figured you’d like it ‘cause, you know, numbers and shit. Mako helped me pick ‘em out. She’s much better at the whole ‘fashion’ thing than either of us,” the xenobiologist rambled, his hands flapping and gesticulating wildly. He tried not to meet Hermann’s eye contact, not wanting to see the inevitable look of disapproval he was so used to seeing. 

“Newton, I love it. As… much as I can love a sweater this, er, unique,” Hermann shook his head. Newt looked back at him to see the corners of a smile peaking out from under the other man’s slender fingers. It made the hair on the back of Newt’s neck stand on end. God damnit.

~*~

The storm outside raged on. It had gotten exponentially worse over the next hour or so. It was freezing in the lounge area, so Newt and Hermann eventually began to migrate to the kitchen. The pair sat at the small center island counter while they waited for a pot of coffee to finish brewing. Newton watched the coffee maker; he watched the dark brown liquid dripping at an even pace. It was steady, like a heartbeat. He thought back to his childhood when he would sit at the kitchen table and watch the percolation of the water through the nearly-black grounds. He understood how it worked with great detail (his uncle had taught him all about different types of coffee and the methods of making it) and he reveled in the methodicism and ritual of the whole ordeal.

Newt was woken from his semi-trance by a notification noise from his phone. He pulled the device from his pocket and peered at the lockscreen. It was a text from one Karla Gottlieb.

Karla: Heyyy Newt how goes the planning ??

“Aw shit,” Newt brought a hand under his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Then, he gathered his strength and typed out his response. He hit send without thinking much about it.

Newt: dude i’m on a holiday vacation getaway with your brother, in case you forgot??? i’m trying to **destress** a bit ya know before i gotta go back to Hong Kong. I’m makin progress tho, i’ll shoot you an email in the AM

Karla fired back imediately: ok ok haha! Have fun with herm ;)

He blew a raspberry into the air and put his phone on silent. He’d deal with the wedding planning situation later. Hermann glanced over at Newt from the crossword puzzle he had been working on for the last hour or so, “Everything alright, Newton?”

Newt felt heat rise to his face and he turned slightly to face Hermann, “Yeah, you know how it is, people know you’re on vacation and still bother you about work,” He shrugged as the coffee maker beeped. Newt let out a sigh of relief and hopped to his feet, and bounded to the now-full coffee pot. “Not that I don’t want to do this particular thing, it’s just that right now isn’t a great time, you know?” he continued as he opened a cabinet and grabbed two coffee cups.

“Is it my sister again?” Hermann set down his pen and peered at Newt over those stupid grandpa glasses. Newt nodded as he poured them each some coffee, “Yeah, dude. Like, of course I wanna work on it but, like this is our first day here man. I just wanna spend some quality time with, uh,” Newt stopped himself, “I just wanna relax, man.”

Newt quickly slid Hermann a mug and turned back to his own drink, holding it tightly like it was his lifeline. He heard Hermann shifting in his seat.

“I completely understand,” he commented, then picked up his mug and began the lightly blow on it. “This snow doesn’t look like it’ll be clearing up any time soon.”

Newt tapped on the rim on the mug and turned to look out the window. The snow was piling up quickly. He reluctantly returned to his seat, this time facing Hermann, “Man, it’s fucking freezing in here…” he noted before taking a tiny sip of his scalding coffee. 

“Perhaps we should try to find a space heater of some kind,” Hermann suggested, “We could also make an attempt to conserve body heat, if you’d like,” he continued quickly. Newt could feel the air in the room get thick, like it was trying to choke him out. His whole body grew tense with a sort of anticipation that he couldn’t shake.

Newt chuckled nervously, “Uh, clarification please, Hermann? Because it sound like you’re asking to share a bed.” 

Hermann’s pale face bloomed with pink and he adjusted his posture, rolling his shoulders back and removing his glasses. They hung softly against his breastbone. Newt decided to look at the glasses instead of making eye contact with his companion.

“Er, I see now that was… odd wording on my part Newton, I apologize-”

“I mean I’m not saying no! Definitely not saying no, dude, it’s freezing!” Newt’s voice rose and became increasingly pitchy, bobbing up and down as his grip on the mug tightened.

“Newton, I-”

Newt interrupted again, “Fuck I didn’t wanna tell you like this but-”

“Newton…”

“-I have feelings for you, Hermann, I mean like BIG feelings! And that probably makes things really fucking weird but I literally have wanted nothing more to share a bed with you for, fuck, so so long,” Newton sputtered out, his cheeks now matching the color of his surprised lab partner. Hermann sucked in a breath and held it in for a good few moments. They shared a brief second of eye contact, before Newton took a large sip of the quickly cooling coffee.

“Newton, I…” Hermann started but trailed off, tilting his head and giving Newt a look of… was it pity? Sympathy? Newt couldn’t decipher it for shit.

“The feeling is… mutual, I suppose.” Hermann muttered and took a coffee sip of his own then made true, unbreaking eye contact with Newt. 

Newt swallowed and raised his eyebrows at him, “Really?” he asked in a voice softer than Hermann had heard before. 

Hermann nodded. Newt finally recognized the man’s expression as one of mutuality, one of admiration from him. 

“If you’d like to take up the offer, I wouldn’t mind either,” Hermann smiled at him without hiding it up this time. The joy radiating from Hermann’s smile infected Newt, who also began to grin back at him.

“Man, I’ve been waiting for this for so long,” Newt purred fondly, his hand creeping toward’s Hermann’s. He figured he should have offered the same a long time ago.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on  
> Tumblr: mitsurugay  
> Twitter: fruitgeiszler 
> 
> Comments appriciated!!


End file.
